There is a widespread perception that saintly Britain had adopted this poor little girl called Africa and was busy saving her from hunger, war, disease and poverty. Suddenly big, greedy China, flashing huge deals and cheap goods, has seduced the girl and is leading her astray, even raping her. And to make it worse for Britain, ungrateful Africa sometimes feels that although Chinese intentions may not be entirely honourable, China at least treats her like a grown up.
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and the comments on the article are also very amusing..... lots of sour grapes plus a bit "helpless"

Silent Spring wrote:
I say let the Chinese have a go, and good luck to them. If it cuts down or, better yet, eliminates altogether the funds that pour into Africa from Europe then that sounds good to me. Let someone else try another way. I know, I know...call me self-serving, but it's a harsh world and we might as well reap what benefits we can. Money saved is money earned

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Azanne Kofi Akainyah wrote:
The Chinese have one advantage: they are explicit that they are in Africa because of their national/self interest. The West has been in Africa for centuries for the same reason but have pretended otherwise. In dealing with foreigners we Africans have to develop a clear view as to what is our national interest. We are exploited, undeveloped, patronised, even ridiculed because we are unable, as a people, to see clearly, even today, what Kwame Nkrumah saw decades ago. It's no use blaming the Chinese, or for that matter, even the West.

If you leave the African nations to themselves, they'll kill each other. A better part of the 20th century has shown them to be incapable of peaceful coexistance, or even self-reliance to put it bluntly. It's only where some minuscule of foreign influence stayed on post colonial era, that there has been prosperity. South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe have been such countries. Zimbabwe tried to uproot this influence, and ended itself into chaos. South Africa has been on a good streak, while Kenya is getting there.

Indeed Asian countries like China and India are going to create and run markets there, to sell their own goods and services, and buying natural resources. If it gives them peace and order in the process, there's no harm done. Those markets will make their economies capable of setting up their own universities, local entrepreneurship will crop up.

If you leave the African nations to themselves, they'll kill each other. A better part of the 20th century has shown them to be incapable of peaceful coexistance, or even self-reliance to put it bluntly. It's only where some minuscule of foreign influence stayed on post colonial era, that there has been prosperity. South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe have been such countries. Zimbabwe tried to uproot this influence, and ended itself into chaos. South Africa has been on a good streak, while Kenya is getting there.

Indeed Asian countries like China and India are going to create and run markets there, to sell their own goods and services, and buying natural resources. If it gives them peace and order in the process, there's no harm done. Those markets will make their economies capable of setting up their own universities, local entrepreneurship will crop up.

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the fate of African can not be decided by others ,but by themselves..

If they were entreprenant enough, they would save themselves without any other 's help.

If they keeps on overindulgeing themselves as now, they would be hopeless.
they would spend all 2 trillion dollars without any restraint and become poor again in sevearl years ,even if Chinese were to gift all 2 trillion dollars to them

If they were entreprenant enough, they would save themselves without any other 's help.

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And sadly, their post-colonial track-record shows otherwise. Countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe had been able to pull through thanks to its small but significant foreign influence, and skilled high-level workforce consisting of whites. Others, such as Uganda, Congo, etc., have proven they cannot sustain themselves. The scale of war and human-rights violations that the west chooses to turn a blind eye on, further shows how the way forward for them is political and economic guidance from the outside. They will remain sovereign nations, but will have to form markets for foreign goods and services, at the same time, the foreign players will have to maintain order in Africa, suppress faction warfare, etc.

Everyone is guided by their own national interest. And that can be greed as well. For Africa, if by letting the Chinese and the Indians as well take the place of the west and in the process improve their situation, then they will welcome that. One thing is for sure, India being the self rightous, they will not exploit for sure. I remember reading somewhere how, Indian investment in Africa is purely business deals by private industry. While China is government driven mostly after the natural resources. China is not ashamed of it at all and they are focussed in expanding their influence. India has to leave the current path of being goody goody and get real and start doing what China is doing. If it sounds bad, well its just that. But we have our own interest to take care of and their is no shame in it. Everyone has done that and are doing it. India should be no different.